1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a heavy-duty vehicle hybrid drive and suspension system and, more particularly, to a fuel efficient heavy-duty Class 8 long-haul vehicle in which a number of small highly efficient constant speed diesel engine-generators are variously used at any one time to meet the varying speed and load demands of the vehicle; and with road-wheels driven by modular electrical motor suspension units which can be utilized in any location on the vehicle chassis and on trailers of the vehicle. The drive system equally applies to light & medium duty Class 2 to 7 vehicles, motorhomes, amphibians, and automobiles.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Hybrid vehicle drive systems employing an internal combustion engine and electric motors to drive the wheels are well known in the art.
Known prior hybrid vehicle art includes U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,099,589; 5,327,987; 5,495,906; 5,842,534; 5,908,077; 5,979,257; 5,993,350; 6,059,059; 6,817,432; 6,823,954; and 6,832,148.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not disclose a new hybrid system for heavy-duty Class 8 long-haul type vehicles.
These hybrid vehicle drive systems are designed for light-weight urban automobiles, light trucks, delivery vans, and intercity buses where stop and go driving is the norm. But there is a lack of hybrid systems designed to reduce fuel consumption for long-haul heavy-duty Class 8 trucks, as well as medium-duty Class 4 to 7 vehicles and motorhomes. With non-urban long haul heavy vehicles, the traditional small vehicle hybrid “stop & go” schemes of using smaller engines augmented by batteries and regenerative braking, or turning off the engine while at a stoplight, provides no benefits to a heavy weight vehicle which may stop only once every 200 or 300 miles.
With long-haul, heavy-duty vehicles on level cross-country highways, the major elements that impact fuel economy are: (1) the frontal area size of the vehicle, and (2) engine inefficiencies due to varying the speed & power of a fixed size single engine to meet various driving & load conditions. On inclines, there is the element of (3) energy wasted for downhill braking of the truck and the trailers. And in sunny areas, the potential use of free power from photovoltaic cells.
My invention focuses on increasing fuel economy of heavy-duty, long haul Class 4 to 8 vehicles by adjustably decreasing the frontal area of the vehicle in transit, eliminating the inefficient varying speed & power of a single engine, capturing regenerative braking energy from the truck and its trailers, and capturing free solar energy to lower fuel consumption in sunny climes.
In this respects, this invention of a heavy-vehicle hybrid system substantially departs from conventional concepts and designs of prior art, and in doing so provides a hybrid system specifically focused on lower fuel usage of heavy-duty, long haul Class 4 to 8 vehicles.